Which National Park?

[N80]

Our 30th anniversary is coming up this summer and my wife wants to go on a trip. We both like to travel but don't get to do it a lot. Once every couple of years. We have been to Italy, New York, a road trip through the deep south for blues festivals. Now she has the idea that she would like to go to the Grand Canyon or a couple of other National Parks. She visited many of them when she was a small child. I've never been west of central Texas.

So I'm wondering how you folks who have experience with the big famous National Parks would rank them and what you would suggest if you could only pick one or two.

But, there are some criteria. 1.) I'm not fond of being a tourist in blistering hot weather and we would probably go in the spring. Yes, I have lived all my life in the hot steamy south but when I'm on vacation I prefer not to be in the heat. 2.) I'm not fond of simply being a tourist. I don't like crowds of tourists. I don't like being in tourist traffic on the roads. 3.) We don't mind going off the beaten path. When we went to Italy we hardly had an itinerary. We mostly just went wherever the mood took us and it was mostly to places where people didn't speak English and there were no English menus (which, by the way, is how you get the best Italian food!). 4.) We don't mind hiking, walking or driving out of the way to see good stuff that the tourists might miss. 5.) I am into photography and that would be an integral part of what I would enjoy on the trip.

So, with those things in mind I'd love to hear what you folks have to say. I know it isn't tractor related but I also know you guys will give me a wide range of good solid advice and opinion. You always have.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yellowstone.

We went to grand canyon last june, didnt seem too crowded on a weekday.

 

[Wagtail]

Cradle Mountain here in Northern Tasmania.

Wonderful walking tracks, beautiful scenery and stunning hotels.

Then you can explore the rest of the State.

 

[Egon]

Where to go?? You've already said it. Day to day plans.

Really undecided -- ride the Alaskan marine highway!

 

[oosik]

Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore and surrounding area.

 

[brown40]

What is your favorite scape for photography? You could always pick that way--water, color, terrain--what shots would you like to tell the story behind?

 

[deanocraft]

My wife and I have done quite a few of the major parks in the US and Canada. When we go to these places, we have done some hard core back-packing for several nights and then come out for a couple nights in the best National Park Lodge we can book/afford. I highly recommend Yellowstone if you can stay in the Old Faithful Lodge. If you can't stay there, at least go hang out there for a while... It is incredible. The Grand Tetons may be the most beautiful place I have been. We back-packed for 4 nights and then stayed at some misc. park lodge I can't remember the name of. You also could never go wrong in Glacier National Park. Some young, and slightly overweight park ranger put us onto a 32 mile death march, telling us it was her favorite trail... She didn't mention she did it on horseback! But, when we came out we stayed in Lake McDonald Lodge. Killer place. LeConte Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains is pretty cool as well. I've been up there on the Alum Cave Trail, and it is a good hike. The Grand Canyon is fantastic, if you go into it. The south rim is where it is crowded. I believe we stayed in the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim. There are hardly any tourists there.

You will have to plan far in advance to get rooms in any of these places. It is well worth it, though! Good luck and take plenty of pictures

 

[bunyip]

Alpine National Park, you can travel 2WD on roads or go 4WD on tracks and not see anyone for days, cooler than the rest of the states due to altitude and can snow in summer but spectacular scenery.
Covers Victoria and NSW.
Could suggest the opal mines around Coober Pedy and Lightning Ridge but not this time of year, 40°C + are quite common, way too hot for this little black duck but pleasant August to October.
Great Ocean Road Victoria, lots of small towns and great beaches, not crowded and some nice spots inland a little way.
Tasmania is nice all over and I have walked a lot of it in my youth, used to dive for crayfish on the East Coast and it was productive and a cheap feed if you like crays (lobster).

 

[Einthewoods]

Probably not what you are looking for, but Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail in Hawaii.

Get hiking in on the trail, relax at night, not to hot, pick an off time when there are somewhat less people....and there are about 100 other things to see (Including National Monuments) on the Island once you get tired with hiking.

 

[texasranger556]

I'll +1 Yellowstone. We didn't have a ton of time to spend as we were passing through from Oregon to Iowa, but it was awesome. Tons of pictures and videos.

Also recommend route 101 along the NorCal/Oregon/Washington coast. One of my favorite pictures I've ever taken was on that trip. Stayed in bed/breakfasts along the way. Redwood forests. Crater Lake. It looks beautiful in pictures, even better in person. We were there in June so still a lot of snow.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore and surrounding area.

We did that in one trip. Flew to denver, drove to rushmore, devils tower, bighorn mts, cody, yellowstone, tetons, rocky mt nat park, back to denver. Didnt have enough time. Just do yellowstone tetons.

 

[/pine]

All the national parks have their own merits and all are worth seeing IMO...
The three that impressed me the most were #1 Yellowstone, #2 Grand Canyon, #3 Crater Lake...
Tetons, Yosemite, Redwood, Zion, Petrified Forrest...were all more than worthy of a visit...

 

[Egon]

Alaska Marine Highway from Seatle.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Alaska Marine Highway from Seatle.

I went from juneau to prince rupert on a ferry, that was great. Then drove down thru jasper, banff and across the US.

 

[Ortimber]

Since Oregon has been a popular subject lately, I’ll throw in a plug for Crater Lake. Just an amazing sight that has no rival.

 

[N80]

Thanks for the advice guys. I should clarify that we are only equipped for day hikes. Probably the farthest we have ever hiked together was 10-12 miles and that was at low altitude...although it was 90 degrees and humid. I have never been a hiker/camper (although my brother is so he could help us sort that out if we really wanted to do that).

Also, continental US more than likely. One of the reasons we crossed Europe off the list was the price of air fare. Might do Alaska but flights there are probably high too (from SC). Would love Hawaii but that's out too. Continental US air fare is pretty cheap right now, oddly enough.

 

[MossRoad]

Kinda funny that we like vacationing where YOU live! hahahaa We've been to the OB several times in NC and everywhere down to Tybee Island, GA and in between. Lots to do over there.

You're in SC. Have you been to the Smokies? We've been there probably 10 times. Lots of good day hikes in that park.

Mammoth Cave. There's several different tours of varying times and difficulties. It's cool in summer and warm in winter down there.

If you go out to Rapid City, SD, there's probably 5-6 days worth of stuff to do there.
Mount Rushmore
Crazy Horse(not a National Park, but 10 times more impressive than Rushmore, in my opinion)
Devil's Tower
Some caves.
Badlands

Yellowstone was our favorite. But be prepared for lots of traffic in season and gosh help you if you get caught in a bear jam (bear stops traffic).

Little Bighorn battlefield.

You ever been up to DC? I highly recommend it, if not. Stay in a town on the outskirts and ride the subway in daily to the national mall. The subways are clean, safe, and easy to use. I had my kids plan the subway route and take me to the mall to see if they could get around if they got lost. No problem for them at all.

Gettysburg, PA is a must. Great park! You can drive, stop and walk all day long. 2 days if you read a lot.

Grand Canyon was OK. We had more fun flying into Phoenix, driving south to Tucson to the San Javier mission, then north to the Grand Canyon, but stopping at all of the cliff dwellings on the right on the way up, and the right on the way back to Phoenix. There's a LOT to see in AZ.

Big trees in CA.

Our to do trip would be to fly out to LA, then drive north to Canada along the ocean, then fly home. Would take a couple weeks for us, though.

 

[check]

Banff National Park. One of the best in the world, and the temps are just right in the Summer.

 

[Deere Dude]

Glacier NP and Yellowstone.

 

[jerrybob]

Yellowstone......Mt. Rushmore.......Yosemite.......Sequoia.......Grand Tetons.......Glacier.......Acadia.....Zion......Grand Canyon.....Great Smoky's.....Denali.....Olympic........Arches.......Everglades.........all are beautiful......lots to see........take your pick........they all are worth visiting.